Tip of the Week #6 – Using Templates

This week’s tip is another great time saver from Kit Tomshøj.

Templates.Programmers use them. Web designers use them. You’ve probably used them for composing a proper document in Microsoft Word. And while it’s true that in the print industry each order is technically a custom one – an aspect of printing which sets it apart from most other types of manufacturing – there are of course commonalities to the products. Business cards, tri-fold brochures, pocket folders, etc. may have variable content but their physical features and dimensions are frequently identical.

Template functionality in PrintVis allows us to create all sorts of profiles within the Product Groups so we do not have to reinvent the wheel every time a certain kind of job comes up.

Templates for easy jobs are just as important as templates for tricky jobs, although the time saved for the tricky jobs can be much more significant.

Some obvious advantages to using templates:

The experienced user saves time in estimating repeat products

A super (full) user can create templates where certain specific conditions are kept and remembered

A less experienced work force can still create reliable estimates

A base template can be applied to the Product Group and be automatically entered when the job is created.

So we encourage you to create and use templates! You can build a library over time and improve your efficiency exponentially. 3 minutes saved per order in general can add up to 60 man-days per year if your business averages 10,000 orders/year.